


Reaching Your Full Potential

by thelotusflower



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged Up, Arcade, Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Model UN, Study Date, Study Sessions, Tutoring, Useless Gay Craig, but not really, cries in cryle, idk what to tag?, kind of, tame enemies lol, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28415355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelotusflower/pseuds/thelotusflower
Summary: When Kyle finds out that Craig, someone who puts little to effort in school or anything else for that matter, gets a 33 on the ACT, he makes it his job to help him reach his full potential. Along the way, he realizes he wants something else from him too.Craig realizes he really likes seeing Kyle without his hat.
Relationships: (background), Kenny McCormick/Tweek Tweak, Kyle Broflovski/Craig Tucker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 55





	Reaching Your Full Potential

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jewboykahl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewboykahl/gifts), [ambercreek95](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambercreek95/gifts).



> /cries in cryle/
> 
> Alright folks!!!! HERE I AM, with another ship obsession. LITERALLY I just want to thank @jewboykahl for always falling done these holes with me and absolutely losing their mind over cryle w me, and also just holding my hand throughout this entire fic. ILY!
> 
> ALSO I put twenny in here because of ambercreek95..,,,,,, ilysm.... sorry if it sucks, idk how to life
> 
> Alright this is my first ever cryle, so please be kind 🥺

Craig wasn’t sure if the school was _authorized_ to announce his private ACT scores, but that didn’t stop them from doing it. Principal Victoria congratulated him, along with a couple of other students, for their high ACT scores. Everyone around him had clapped for him, looking at him with smiles, to which he had just stuck his middle finger up, resulting in detention.

Throughout the day, the string of congratulation continued throughout his classes and in the hallway. It wasn’t until lunch however that Kyle Broflovski came up to him, Stan and Kenny behind him. They sat down at their table, which was unusual, but not totally, as their circle of friends sometimes interacted — especially ever since Kenny took a liking to Tweek.

“You got a 33 on the ACT?” Kyle had immediately narrowed his brown eyes on him.

His tone was unlike the others. He seemed almost _angry._

“Yeah. So?”

“That’s a really high score.”

Craig shrugged at this. “Doesn’t take a genius to know that, but I appreciate the clarification.”

Clyde sniggered beside him, along with Kenny, who Kyle glared at. Although, Kenny just continued to snicker.

“You’re _failing.”_

“How do you know?”

“Because I sit by you in Calc and Brit Lit, and everything you get back is below 60. Not to mention I’ve heard you complain about every single class you have.”

Craig shrugged, picking up a fry.

“Did you _cheat?”_

Tweek snapped narrowed eyes to his raven-haired friend.

“ _No,_ ” Craig drawled, rolling his eyes as he connected hazel back to amber. “Did _you?”_ He challenged.

Kyle scoffed, eyes narrowing. “ _No,_ ” he denied, his voice sharpening. “I’ve gone to multiple ACT prep classes, and have a 4.0. I’m the first in the class. It makes _no_ sense to me that I only scored two points higher than…,” Kyle stopped himself, seemingly realizing how much of an asshole he might sound with all the eyes at the table on him. He cleared his throat, “I just don’t _get_ it. Did you study?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard of a test,” he mumbled, chewing on a fry as his gaze fell.

“It was pretty fucking hard, dude,” Stan interjected. “That math section? Oof,” Stan shook his head, blowing air through his lips as he looked down at his lunch tray. “I’m lucky I’m good at football.”

“Thats like me but I'm not good at football,” Clyde commented, receiving a myriad of laughs from the table.

“I was thinking that if I take it again, I’m just gonna offer the proctor a blow job for the answer key,” Kenny said.

Kyle rolled his eyes, but Clyde asked, “what if it’s a lady? Mine was _really_ hot, dudes. Like I would fucking do shit to her for more than just answer keys.”

“Fuck off, Clyde,” Craig glared at his friend. “I really don’t think she was in any way interested in your prepubescent ass.”  
  


“Prepubescent?” Clyde gaped at him. “I’m far past prepubescent. I’m post-pubescent. I’m a _man._ Fuck you.”

“Yeah, tell that to the three hairs on your lip that you refuse to shave,” Craig shot back.

Kenny cleared his throat, regaining the attention of the group. “If it were a lady, I would definitely show her a good time as well,” he winked. “Just had to make that point clear.”

Craig opened his mouth, but Kyle beat him with, “I think you’ve made the point clear enough, many of times.”

“I don’t know, Ky… I think I should make it a little clearer,” a cheesy grin rose on his lips. He waggled his eyebrows, “after school today maybe? I’m more of a hands-on learner myself,” Kenny snaked an arm around him.

Kyle grimaced and shoved him away, “I’m _good.”_

Kenny’s smile did not falter as Kyle pushed him away. Instead, the blonde shifted his head to the other blonde across the table. He set an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand. “What about you, Blondie?”

Tweek’s eyes went wide. “Uh… what?”

“You want me to make my point across to you?”

“What is that?”

Craig huffed. He hated whenever Stan and his gang sat with them. It felt more hectic than any lunchtime ever should.

“You know… We’re you _not_ listening?” Kenny’s smile finally faltered.

Tweek frowned as he busied his hand in his hair. “Ah, no… Sorry I got distracted… It is kind of hard to keep up with your guys’ conversations. I sort of just spaced…”

The rest of the table chuckled, all while Tweek continued to stare blankly at the frowning Kenny. “Okay, well. I was flirting with you so you really missed out.”

“I’m sure it’ll happen again soon,” Tweek hummed in response, taking a sip from his thermos, his eyes sparkling. Craig rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe Tweek was interested in one of the members of Stan’s gang. He supposed Kenny was the _least_ annoying, but that really didn’t mean _much_ considering who the other members were.

The conversation of ACTs dwindled as the lunch period continued, but Kyle continued to look at the raven-haired boy with curiosity and slight irritation. He couldn’t figure it out; both how Craig did so well, and why he didn’t seem to care one bit.

Craig caught him staring at one point and simply just glared back. Kyle took it as a challenge, staring back with matched intensity. However, neither said a word to each other for the rest of the lunch period.

-

Kyle laid in bed that night with Craig Tucker on his mind. He just couldn’t figure it out. It’s not that he actually thought he cheated. It would be damn near impossible to cheat, and Craig wasn’t nearly stealthy enough. The boy spent much of their childhood and adolescence in detention because he was the opposite of stealthy.

If he didn’t cheat though that meant he actually got a 33 on the test. Kyle wondered if Craig had secretly studied for this test; if he had gone to another school for ACT prep; if his parents hired him a tutor so he could gain a high score and maybe distract colleges from his failing grades.

He wondered if Craig actually _did_ care about his failing grades and his high ACT score. Usually though, it was the other way around — people did bad on standardized tests but had good grades. Like Stan.

Kyle grabbed his phone off the night side table and texted his friend. He had studied with Stan multiple times for the ACT. He more or less forced his group to study. Cartman seemed to get the most out of it, scoring at 28, but it was still 5 points behind Craig, who potentially gave no effort at all.

Kyle (2:31 am): Do you think I was helpful to you with my ACT tutoring?

He felt like he let his friends down. How could he put so much effort into them succeeding, just for Craig Tucker to come in and get a 33 without even trying? Was he a bad tutor? He decided he would urge his friends to take the test again. He knew they would be reluctant, but Kenny got a 17, and he just _knew_ he could do better. Stan got a 22, which was standard, he supposed, but Stan was smart! He was smarter than Craig… right?

If Craig could do it, surely his friends could.

Although, when the next morning came at the bus stop, and he suggested to his friend that they retake it after more tutoring sessions (he would even retake it too and try for a perfect score)— his friends said no.

“Kyle, there is _no_ way, dude,” Stan shook his head.

  
“I don’t even have the money to take it again,” Kenny said.

“Maybe because you’ve been spending it all on shitty coffee.” Stan laughed, along with Cartman. Although Kyle did find it funny how many visits Kenny paid to Tweek Bros. to see his crush, he felt determined to push forward with his plan.

“Come on you guys, don’t you want to get into a good college? Get scholarships?”  
  


“Kenny’s got permanent brain damage. You’re lucky he even _made_ it to the test.”

“Fuck off, fat boy,” Kenny glared at him. He looked back at Kyle, “honestly, dude, I don’t even know if I’m _going_ to college.”

Kyle’s eyes bulged. “What!? Kenny you have to.”

“I told you not to tell him, man,” Stan nudged the blonde.

“Stan. You knew this?” He shifted his eyes to his best friend, frowning with hurt eyes.

“Yeah, and I knew you’d react this way — College isn’t for everyone.”

Kyle knew this, yeah, but he wondered what Kenny would do without it. Stay in South Park? He knew he probably wanted to take care of Karen, but the idea of him staying here, working some shitty job for the rest of his life unsettled him.

He attempted to keep his opinions to himself but it was difficult. He felt that if he opened his mouth, all that would come out is all the reasons Kenny _should_ go to college, so he just kept his mouth _shut_ and waited for the bus. Luckily, that wasn’t too long. On the bus ride to school, Stan asked why he was thinking of this shit at 2 am, referencing his text. Kyle forego his thoughts about Craig and said he just felt he let everyone down with his tutoring. While Stan assured him it wasn’t his fault, he still felt guilty.

He tried to cease his excessive thoughts on the ACT, but they came barreling down once again when he saw the calculus test placed on Craig’s desk. He eyed it as Craig turned it over. He got a 63 percent. He couldn’t help himself as he said, “I don’t get it.”

Craig looked at him and put his paper face down. “Do you ever consider minding your own business?”

“You can’t be serious,” Kyle glared at him.

Craig squinted at him.

“You’re the biggest gossip in this entire school, Craig.”

“ _Hardly_. You should hear Bebe.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. He was smart enough to know he was just deflecting. “How do you get a 33 on the ACT and a 63 on your calc test? What did you get on the math section?”

Craig rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned to face forward. Kyle continued to stare at his profile as Craig clenched his jaw. He admittedly had not spent this much time staring at Craig before this past week. Kyle’s mind briefly went astray as he wondered where all his acne went from the year prior.

“Why do you _care?”_

“Because I’m _curious.”_

Craig huffed out some air. Their teacher was still passing out the graded tests.

“This stuff is boring?”

“Isn’t that like your whole _thing?_ Boring?”

Craig’s eyes shifted over to him with a glare. “What is your _point?”_ Craig demanded.

“Just —,” Kyle huffed out, glancing at his hands. He honestly didn’t know. He just felt stuck on this; he felt determined to understand it. “Don’t you care about college and stuff?”

Craig shrugged indifferently, “no, not really.”

Kyle blinked, unsure how to process this information for the second time today. Unlike Kenny, he and Craig were not close. He was hardly even an acquaintance. He didn’t even know why he cared. “You got a 33 on the ACT and you don’t care about college. That’s such a waste.”

“How many times are you going to remind me of my score?” He turned his body so he was looking at Kyle straight-on. “I know what I got.”

“It doesn’t seem like you do. I mean, like — that’s a really _good_ score, and you just… don’t seem to care at all. I had to put in so much effort to do well. Stan put in so much effort, and you do better than him? And you don’t even want to do anything with it or try in school because it’s _boring?_ That’s such a waste.”

Craig stared at him and Kyle stared back. His expression was unwavering and stoic, as it usually was. There was a pause before he asked, “are you done?”

“What?”

“Did you get it out of your system? Are you finished?”

Kyle faltered. “Yeah,” was all he said.

“Great,” Craig countered, shifting forward in his desk again, “now leave me alone.”

But it wasn’t out of his system. He continued to think of Craig and his differing scores all day. He wondered what he got specifically on all the sections. Did he excel in one specific subject? He remembered Craig liking space when they were young. Did he do better in science than the rest? He couldn’t quit thinking about it. It just seemed like such a _waste._ Craig was obviously smart. It made him wonder how well he could do if he just _tried._

_-_

As the days passed, he continued to peak at Craig’s papers and quizzes as they were handed back to him. He continued to do poorly.

Kyle was going to let it go. He wasn’t going to bring it up again, but then Wendy provided an enzyme for his thoughts. 

“So, Suzy is out sick this weekend for our Model UN, so I asked Craig to come.”

“You what?”

“Yeah, and he said he would. He owes me, so. He has like a photographic memory and loves being right, and being an asshole to people. It’s perfect for him.”

He didn’t know what to think of this. It didn’t make much sense to him, however, neither did that darn ACT score.

-

Craig hated that he owed Wendy a favor. It wasn’t even a _favor,_ really, she had just given him some juicy gossip about Red and Kevin’s break up in exchange for Craig participating in Model UN on Saturday. That’s right, he was wasting his Saturday at school with a bunch of nerds.

He was a delegator for Peru, which honestly felt a little racist, but whatever. Wendy said it was a coincidence that Suzy was assigned with it, ergo it falling onto Craig. He knew a couple things about his country of half-origin, but definitely not enough to figure it out on his own. He thought about calling his grandmother, whom would definitely have information to provide him, considering she was born there, but he didn’t want to be on the phone for two hours, hearing about the local street cats who hang around her house. So instead, he did a google search the night before, specifically on his topic, globalization.

The Model UN was held in the cafeteria of the high school. It looked different, but all the same with its linoleum floor and high ceilings decorated with fluorescent lights. He checked in, and was waved over by Wendy, who stood next to Kyle.

  
He sucked in a breath as he headed over. He forgot Kyle was part of Model UN. He looked different in his attire now — dark suspenders, teal khakis, and a blue shirt. His hair was gelled to the side and not hiding beneath his usual hat. He brushed his own hair back now, feeling slightly self conscious. He wore simple brown khakis, a simple white oxford, and a maroon tie.

Wendy wolf whistled him, which he glared at.

“You clean up well,” she smirked. “I should trade secrets for your participation more often.”

Kyle snickered at his, glancing between Wendy and the dark-haired-male. “You are here because of _gossip?”_

“I don’t regret a thing,” he shot back. “At least not yet.”

Wendy set a hand on his shoulder, “it’s fun, Craig, you’ll love it! You went over your country, right?”

Craig nodded. “Last night.”

“You _just_ went over it last night?” Kyle gaped.

He shifted his eyes to amber. “Yep.”

Kyle scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m sure that’s gonna go great for you.”

He hadn’t forgotten his unsolicited nagging from a week prior. Kyle shoved his way into his business, and he was determined to use this — this stupid club that Kyle poured his soul into — to get payback. “I guess we will see about that.”

Kyle flicked his eyes up to meet hazel. Craig just stared ahead with a straight line across his face but there was a slight cock to his eyebrow. Kyle squinted his eyes at him, the tension rising between them. Wendy laughed, putting a hand on Craig’s shoulder once more, “glad you’re getting into it, Craig.”

Shortly after, they began. Craig made negotiations with Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, and Pakistan, which Wendy was the delegator for. However, when Kyle attempted to make a negotiation with him, he denied him. Kyle was peeved at his, frowning and asking why. While Craig _was_ totally just getting back at him, he gave an exceptional reasoning for why he denied his deal.

In fact, he continued to impress Kyle through and through with his knowledge not only on Peru, but the issues that the countries spoke of. He watched as Kyle watched him with a stern glare and a tight line across his face. He knew he was pissing him off by doing so well. He didn’t like that he could come in here and catch on so quick, especially after only a day before preparation.

Kyle came to him _again_ with a new proposal, which he also said no to. He could practically see Kyle’s skin boiling with anger. He tried to not smile, knowing he successfully pissed the redhead off.

“We are supposed to be working together, you asshole,” Kyle quipped. “You are just not helping me on purpose.”

  
“What you are proposing won’t help globalization in Peru.”

  
“It will help with clean water and sanitation in Japan though, and also therefore, probably climate change in general.”

Craig shrugged. “Come back when you’re willing to actually make a _compromise.”_

“Craig,” Wendy beckoned, next to him, frowning, “you should help him out — make an ally.”

Craig frown deepened as he flicked his eyes back to Kyle. They stared at each other in a stand off.

“He just doesn’t care about clean water and sanitation, Wendy. He doesn’t care about anything.”

With that, Kyle stormed away. Craig snickered to himself and Wendy shot him a look.

“ _What?”_

She cocked her head to the side. “You’re kind of being a dick.”

“Me? How?” His eyes widened at his friend. “ _He_ is the dick. He’s been a dick to me since I got my ACT score back. I think he’s jealous or something.”

“He did better than you.”

“So?” He shrugged, glancing away at the notepad in front of him. “He’s jealous I didn’t have to study for it or something.”

“You really didn’t study for it, at all?” She questioned.

“No, I told you.”

“… Then, that’s… really impressive… and I kind of _get_ his frustrations.”

Craig’s face contoured as he looked at Wendy. “Dude. What.”

Wendy didn’t look at him as she shrugged, eyes on her own notepad as she jotted down a few things. “All I’m saying is I did a _point_ better than you, and I put a lot of work into school. It’s… I don’t know, Craig… It’s like, you are just naturally smart, but you just don’t do anything with it. I mean, look at you today, you’ve been doing a really good job!” She turned to face him. “And it seems like you’re having fun.”

Truthfully, he was. He didn’t _think_ he would. He thought he would have much preferred spending his night in Clyde’s basement, playing video games and listening to Tweek’s anecdotes, but he felt like he was stretching a muscle. It felt _good_ to challenge his brain.

He wasn’t going to tell Wendy this though.

He shrugged, “it’s okay.”

“I’m just saying, me and Kyle are a lot alike. We both work really hard, and I’m not going to lie to you, I was happy for you to do so well, but it just… I don’t know. It’s a little … unfair?” She managed to find the words, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Should I have failed it? Would that make you feel better?” He turned away, a sharpness in his tone. His eyes landed on Kyle. He was running around, frantic, trying to figure out his stupid issue. He tried so hard with everything. He had always been an over achiever. Craig was quite the opposite… more so an _under_ achiever.

Someone else came up to Wendy to discuss climate change. Craig tuned them out, eyes still on Kyle. Maybe he _was_ being a dick, but he just hated how much Kyle was hammering on him the other day. He didn’t know _what_ he wanted to do with his life. He really only cared about his guinea pig, and space. He took a physics class and he actually _aced_ it. Science was always his easiest of subjects though…

He got up and began to walk over to Kyle. Kyle was in mid-conversation with another student. Craig interrupted it. He figured Peru would solve whatever problem Kyle was trying to figure out. “Peru will help you.”

The other student gave him a dirty look for interrupting but he flipped them off in response. Angry, the student stormed off. Kyle shook his head, “okay, well you also owe me for losing United States as an ally.”

“Who wants United States as an ally?”

Kyle spread his lips out into a small smile. He shrugged. “They have a lot of stuff. Also it’s good to have an ally with most countries.”

“Good thing I came over here then… We are allies now, right?”

Kyle nodded. “I suppose.”

They exchanged the information needed between them, coming to a negotiation that also helped Peru. Craig felt weird being around Kyle alone. He had him in a class, sure, but they barely spoke any words to one another. Then, occasionally, their groups of friends would collide for lunch or an event outside of school, but it was never just him and Kyle. And he was always wearing a hat.

They stood awkwardly as they conceded on their conversation regarding globalization in Peru. Kyle stood chewing on his bottom lip. He didn’t get Craig. He still didn’t. He said he only looked into this stuff last night, but yet he seemed so informed. He seemed like he _belonged_ here. Sure, he was a little rusty on some terms and definitely not as in the swing of things as those who have been around for years, but it seemed to come natural to him.

“Did you really only read into this stuff last night?”

“Are you accusing me of cheating again?”

“No. I’m just asking.”

“Well. Yes,” he answered.

They stared a moment longer. Craig was ready to turn on the balls of his feet, when Kyle said, “I’m sorry if I was coming off like a dick last week.”

Craig flicked his hazel eyes to meet amber. He wasn’t expecting an apology from Kyle. “Thanks,” was all he knew to say before retreating back to Wendy. He wasn’t sure why but it was too odd being around Kyle alone.

-

Kyle found himself _again_ thinking of Craig that night. Even though he was still an asshole, he felt like he had seen another part of him today. Craig always seemed so … _apathetic._ He wasn’t into sports, nor into theater, or student council, like his group of friends. He didn’t do _anything._ He probably went home everyday and watched _TV, or_ played video games. While Kyle loved video games, he knew it was important to do more than just that. He played basketball and did model UN. He figured that was enough for colleges, and he also really enjoyed _doing_ it.

He thought of Kenny. Kenny was talented at almost everything, but he didn’t have time to do anything with his talents. He was forced to spend all his time working to support his family. It made him sad for Kenny, but also angry that someone privileged like Craig didn’t take advantage of his free time.

In his restless sleep, he decided he had to do something about Craig. He didn’t know what, but he knew he had to do _something._ Otherwise, these thoughts would consume him.

-

Monday morning, when he saw him in calculus, he knew what he was going to do. “So, I’ve decided to help you do better in school.”

Craig looked up at him a perplexed expression as Kyle sat in the desk next to him. “Um… I don’t remembering signing up for any tutoring sessions. So thanks, but no fucking way.”

“I don’t even think you _need_ tutoring, really. I think you just need a _push.”_

Craig stared at him with a stony glare, “do you ever get sick of meddling in people’s lives?”

“I don’t meddle. I just… Fuck you. Okay. I’m helpful.”

Craig scoffed. He shook his head. “I don’t want your _push_ ,” he declared. “Whatever the hell that means.”

“Come on — Kenny and I are going to Tweek Bros. after school to study. You’re friends with Tweek — don’t you want to see him?”

“I can see him … _whenever_ and _wherever_ else.”

“Well, you _haven’t_ seen how pathetic Kenny’s gets in front of him. It’s fucking hilarious. He’s like the best flirt in the world except with the most anxious person alive. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s really funny to watch.”

Craig shifts his glare to him, expression softening slightly. “… I’ll have to ask Tweek if his parents will be there. If they are there … I’m not going. They are still fucking weird as fuck about us breaking up, and never leave me alone about it.”

“Didn’t you guys break up like forever ago?” Kyle tried to stifle a laugh. “Honestly, that would be really hilarious to see.”

Craig huffed out a bit of air. “Well, you won’t be seeing it, so get over it, but I’ll let you know otherwise. Seeing Kenny make a fool of himself and Tweek do the same is enough bait for me.”

“I knew it would be,” Kyle declared with a small grin, “because you’re a nosy asshole.”

Craig shifted his gaze to Kyle and Kyle swore he saw a smirk as he said, “shut up.”

-

It turned out that Tweek’s parents _were_ out for the afternoon, as Craig told Kyle he would come. Kyle was satisfied with this.

Tweek gave them their coffee for free, which Kyle wondered how often he did for Kenny and Craig. Kenny gave him a tip though, along with a wink that Tweek missed as he turned around to prepare their drinks, making Kenny huff out a sigh as they found a table in the back.

“Your fucking friend is impossible, dude,” Kenny complained as they settled into their seats.

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you,” Craig retorted.

“Everyone likes me,” Kenny argued. “Kyle said that my constant flirting helped him figure out his sexuality.”

Kyle huffed out a bit of air. He still felt weird talking about his sexuality. He came out as Pan about a year ago, and while he knew Craig knew because Craig truly was the school’s biggest gossip, he felt _weird_ ever talking about it. He still hadn’t managed to ever kiss a boy, or anything other than a girl, so he felt almost invalidated. Sometimes he worried he wasn’t Pan at all and it was all inside his head.

“Is that true?” The corner of Craig’s lip tugged up as he asked him. He flicked his eyes up to meet the hazel gaze. He wasn’t sure if it was the lighting of the coffee shop, or the closer proximity than usual, as the table they sat at was meant for two — not three — but Craig had really pretty eyes.

He flushed. “I swear to god, Tucker, if you spread any rumors about that I’ll rip your balls off.”

Craig laughed in the dorky way he did since they were kids. He looked away. “Hey, better than figuring out because of a bunch of Asian girls.”

Kyle supposed this was true. A small smile grew on his lips.

Tweek came over a couple minutes later with their drinks, dropping each one off with a smile, but a warmer smile for Kenny. He shifted his gaze to Kyle, “I can’t believe you got him to study, let alone fucking show his face in this place.”

Craig glanced up at Tweek with a frown. “I don’t know why _you_ show your face in this place.”

Tweek huffed out a breath, “whatever, Craig. Let me know if you need anything else,” he smiled at them all before trailing away.

They sat mostly in silence for the next few minutes. Craig wasn’t sure the last time he actually _tried_ to complete his homework. Usually he did it the class before or the morning of. He would scribble down some answers and turn it in. He did okay, usually at least getting a 60.

As he filled out his worksheets _now,_ he realized the work was much easier than he thought. He found the answers effortlessly, and even _knew_ some of them just from memory. He surprised himself at how fast he finished the assignment, but seemed to surprise Kyle even more.

“You already finished Calc?” Kyle asked when Craig began to switch out his calculus textbook for his British literature one.

Craig nodded and Kyle stared with wide eyes.

“What?” Craig probed.

“Nothing… Nothing,” Kyle muttered as he flicked his eyes down to his own work. He was still doing his own calculus work… which was _surprising,_ but that’s not what made him gape. He just felt oddly… _attracted_ to Craig in this moment. He chewed on his bottom lip, swallowing. He didn’t know why it was so attractive to watch someone complete their calculus homework so fast, but it was.

Once Kyle finished his own calculus homework and switched it out for honors chemistry, Kenny stood up. “Well, I think I deserve a break — I’m going to go ask Tweek if he wants to smoke.”  
  


“You said you quit —,”

“Don’t encourage his bad —,”

Craig and Kyle glanced at each other and flushed red. They both kept their heads down.

“And with that, I’m officially the third wheel…,” Kenny said before he trotted away.

Kyle let out an awkward chuckle as he picked his head up. He shook his head, “they are going to die of lung cancer.”

“Yeah,” Craig picked his gaze up to the redhead, “Tweek is terrified of everything but that apparently.”

Kyle shook his head, “I’m surprised that you don’t smoke.”

Craig picked his head up from his worksheet to squint at him. “Why?” He questioned.

Kyle shrugged. “You don’t seem to care about your future.”

“God,” Craig groaned, rolling his eyes, and staring back at his worksheet as he wrote. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Well, let’s make a routine out of it.”

“I told you… I am not coming here. His parents are freaks.”

“We don’t have to come here,” Kyle offered. “We can go to the library or you can come to my house or something.”

Craig glanced up again, pen stopping in its scribble. He wasn’t sure what to think of the look he gave him.

“Fine, Red,” he declared. He had heard ginger and _Day Walker,_ before, but not _Red_. Unlike the other two nicknames in regards to his hair color, he actually liked this one. “Stop nagging me, and I’ll come,” his hazel eyes flicked down to his work sheet again.

Kyle bit down on his grin as he began his homework again. While he wanted to credit his grin solely to the feeling of victory, he knew there was something else there too.

-

Craig began to come over after school sometimes. Like the coffee shop, they didn’t talk much, except for a few exchanges. Instead, they just did their homework. Usually it would be Kyle to invite him over, but he was caught off guard when Craig asked him if he could come over and receive some help with his economics.

Kyle had mentioned previously he took the class last semester. He did very well in the class which Cartman mocked him endlessly for, saying it was in his blood because he was a _Jew._ He was surprised that Craig was even in the class though. You had the option to take it as a junior or a senior, and the rest of his friends had vouched to take it as a senior.

  
_Friends._

Were him and Craig friends now?

Maybe.

-

Kyle came to school today without a hat on.

He thought when he started going to his house, he would see him without a hat more often, but Kyle kept it on almost all of the nights they were together. Sometimes he would take it off, scratch his curls, then put it back on, but that was it.

  
Today he went without it.

He gelled it like he had the say of the model UN. He found himself staring. It was just such a rare occurrence to see him without it on.

“Where is your hat?” He whispered to him in the middle of class.

Kyle glared at him.

Craig rolled his eyes and wrote the question on a piece of torn loose leaf, passing it over. Kyle took it and stared at it a moment before returning the note with a new message on it:

_I have Model UN after school today._

Craig stared at the note. He contemplated it as he looked up at the teacher. He bit his lip. There were a lot of things he could say back to the male next to him. The endless list put a bubble in his chest. He didn’t _like_ Kyle, but…

He might have.

He felt for a long time he associated him with his group — with Stan, Kenny, Cartman. They were a unit. They were a _dumb,_ chaotic, insane unit that pissed him off with the entirety of his whole being time to time. But now, he knew Kyle as a person, Kyle as his own unit, and when he thought of _that_ Kyle, his chest swelled up.

He chewed on his bottom lip as he wrote, _you look nice._

He passed the note back back with a rapid heart beat. He kept his eyes on the teacher, fearing his reaction, although when he snuck a peak over to him, he saw he was smiling; pink scattered over his cheeks. Craig couldn’t help but smile too.

-

“So you and Craig like… _friends_ now?”

They were playing basketball with Kenny, Cartman, and Butters. Kyle sat on the sidelines with Stan a moment as they played a quick game of lightning. They were waiting for Token to show up, whom Cartman invited because _he must be good at basketball… I mean, come on, guys._

Kyle had rolled his eyes, but despite Cartman’s blatant racism, Token _was_ good at basketball and a good teammate of his.

He laced up his shoe as Stan spoke to him. He thought of the note Craig gave him, the _you look nice,_ and he felt the same flutter in his stomach he got yesterday when he received it.

“Just… helping him reach his full potential.”

“Right.”

Kyle stared at him with narrowed eyes. “ _What?”_ He demanded.

Stan shrugged. “I have just been waiting for you to admit that you have had a boner for him ever since Principle Victoria announced his ACT score.”

“ _What?”_ Kyle scoffed. “No I haven’t,” but he flushed red. He hadn’t. Really. It didn’t start of like that, but now… now, maybe…

“Why else were you so obsessed with him? You never showed the faint bit interest before.”

“It just pisses me off when people waste their potential. He’s, like, really smart, and he’s actually been doing pretty well now in school… so,” Kyle cleared his throat as he stared at the gravel. He felt accomplished for helping Craig, although, he still also felt like whatever he wanted from him was incomplete.

“Kenny said that you had some hard-core chemistry.”

“Kenny said that about me and Cartman.”

“To be fair…”

“Shut the fuck up,” Kyle stood up.

He wasn’t ready to talk about his possible crush yet. It was too bizarre. He had never actually had a crush on a boy before, let alone _Craig_ _Tucker._

-

He never liked his hair. Not only the color, but the texture of it too made him hate it, but he couldn’t get Craig’s note out of his head. He saved it. He wanted to respond and say thanks, but he feared Craig would keep the note, not having anything to say in response.

He figured that, logically, keeping a note from a boy meant you probably _liked_ them, but still, he felt weary on accepting it.

Still as he styled his hair today, ready to show up to school with no hat on, he thought of Craig. He did it _for_ Craig.

He wasn’t sure why he was disappointed at the fact that he didn’t receive another compliment. He didn’t know why he expected Craig to shower him with compliments just for taking off his hat, but he felt disappointed.

His disappointment launched into the rest of the day as he sat down for lunch. He was surprised when Craig and his friends came and sat with them, but less surprised when he saw Kenny and Tweek interacting. It seemed Kenny was finally getting somewhere.

He felt weird in the presence of Craig. He didn’t know how to act around him when their other friends were around. It made him realize that there was a certain softness that came with Craig when they were alone; a softness that he wanted to know more of.

After lunch ended, he pulled Craig aside, “You want to come over after school today?”

“Sure, Red,” Craig responded. He stared at him a moment longer, eyes flickering up to his hair. Kyle thought he would say something, but he didn’t, and instead gave him a small smile. While a compliment would have been nice, the smile felt almost just as warming.

-

When he went over to Kyle’s that night, he felt _distracted._

Not only had the redhead taken off his hat, but he also had taken off his sweat shirt, revealing a Nuggets jersey underneath. It wasn’t the jersey itself that took his attention, but the new free range of skin at his shoulders.

Craig had always laughed at the girls’ dress code, forbidding them of bikini straps and and tube tops. He laughed even harder when Clyde got an awkward boner when Bebe showed up to one of their summer hang outs wearing a tube top.

And now here he was, distracted by _shoulders,_ and not just any shoulders, but those belonging to Kyle Broflovski.

He sighed and put his pencil down, leaning back into his chair and throwing his head back to the ceiling. “I’m fucking bored.”

He heard Kyle sigh. He tipped his chair back to its normal position to see narrowed amber eyes. Craig didn’t know when that annoyed look on Kyle’s face became _cute_ instead of _annoying_ , but he yearned to see more of it. He did his best to restrain a smile.

“Just finish your Brit Lit, dude.”

Craig groaned. It was an assignment about knights and chivalry. “Chivalry is dead, dude, case solved.”

Kyle merely scoffed, continuing whatever he was doing; obviously zoning him out. Craig frowned. He hated this class more than any other class in the world. Tweek even tried to help him out with it, as he is pretty interested in it. Even with his friend’s help, he still could not manage to bring himself to read more than two paragraphs. It was the class he was doing the worst in, but ever since he started hanging around Kyle, his grade escalated to at least _passing._

“You know, I _wasn’t_ failing,” Craig declared.

Kyle picked his gaze up at this. “Huh?” He questioned.

“I _wasn’t_ failing. I did pretty well on most of the quizzes in Calc… and like… I do pretty well on most tests, I guess. I just. I didn’t do any of the assignments and half-assed all the papers. I wasn’t _failing_ though — except for Brit Lit, but the other classes … I had like mostly C’s.”

Kyle blinked.

“I get that’s probably failing to you though.”

Kyle chuckled at this and his amber eyes flicked back down at his content before him. “What do you have now?” He asked.

Craig chewed on his bottom lip. They were fresh into a new semester when the ACT scores were released, so it wasn’t _too_ difficult to bring up his grades due to this. Usually it was a lot harder at the end of the semester when he tried to flip his F’s into D’s and his D’s into C’s. He always _managed_ though.

“That’s my personal business,” he countered, bringing his book to him again. He skimmed over the words. It was all bullshit. “As was my ACT score — fucking principle Victoria. Who gave her the right to post our scores like that?”

Kyle sniggered but still kept his eyes down. “You sound like Cartman when they posted our height changes in fourth grade.”

“And people called _me_ gay,” Craig clicked his tongue with a shake of the head, “dude literally measured everyone’s penis.”

Kyle chuckled again, “and we let it happen. I think that makes us all kind of gay.”

“Your group was always doing the fucking weirdest shit…” Craig droned.

He didn’t know what he was doing. He just wanted the redhead’s attention. Kyle was so focused on that book and his assignment. He wouldn’t even _look_ up at him. He could openly stare at his shoulders, his hair, his _eyelashes,_ and _mouth,_ without getting caught, but he also sort of wanted his undivided attention.

“Part of me still hates you… Just to let you know,” he added. “I haven’t forgotten all the childhood trauma brought on by you and your friends.”

Kyle rolled his eyes to Craig at this, and Craig had to suck in his cheeks from smiling. He felt like he had won an unknowing game, getting Kyle to look up at him.

“You need, like, counseling, man, seriously. Get over it.”

They stared at each other. He found it was actually much easier to talk to Kyle when he wasn’t looking him in the eyes. When he was faced with those big, amber eyes, he felt entirely clueless on how to speak. He exhaled through his nose when Kyle bowed his head down and returned to his assignment.

He felt so fucking useless.

He hated Tweek, Kenny, Clyde — anyone who was capable of flirting. He fucking hated them all.

He scanned his eyes over his textbook. It was the third time he had re-read the first paragraph. He just couldn’t even comprehend the words.

“Can we _please_ take a break?” Craig huffed out.

“You never even _asked_ to,” Kyle picked his head up, a corner of his lip raised. “You literally just started to complain, then proceeded to insult me and my group of friends for things we did _seven_ years ago.”

His amber eyes were back on him. He crossed his chest. “Wasn’t that indication enough?” Craig asked.

“No. What are you? A baby? Use your fucking words, dude. I’m not trying to figure you out.”

He wondered if this had a deeper meaning. Probably, right? Although it wasn’t like Kyle was really trying with him, even if it had been him to invite him over most nights. He felt tension rise in his stomach, fluttering all over his chest. He wasn’t sure how to use words. It wasn’t easy as everyone said it was.

“Whatever,” he huffed out. “I’m asking now. Can we take a break?”

“Sure,” Kyle declared. “I’m pretty hungry anyways.”

-

It was one of the rare occasions where he saw Kyle’s group of friends outside of school. They had all decided to go to the arcade together. It was a combination of Clyde, Cartman, and Kenny’s idea.

They were immediately ditched by Tweek who went off to find Kenny. He made a note to ask Tweek later about it, as they had clearly crossed the _friend_ line with Kenny’s hand on his hip as they played pac-man.

When Bebe, Nichole and Wendy showed up, he followed them around for a bit, but then Nichole and Token had split off on their own, and Wendy and Bebe started to discuss make-up brands, which he did not care at all about. He wandered around, attempting to find Clyde, but when he saw he was with Cartman, he rolled his eyes and walked away. While Craig had warmed up to Kyle and had always somewhat been okay with Kenny, he still hadn’t found the energy to be around the other two members of Stan’s gang.

He wasn’t surprised to see Kyle and Stan together, as they were the only ones left he hadn’t spotted. He decided Stan was _okay_ enough to be around, but he found himself still unable to walk up to them. He didn’t know how to just _involve_ himself in the conversation. So instead he just stared, awkwardly trying to figure out a way to enter their zone until he was _caught._

It was Stan who saw him first, then Kyle. Stan sniggered and nudged Kyle, saying something to him before walking away. Kyle was left glaring at his super best friend, but stood in the same place without him.

Craig gulped and cut the distance between them. “This old Donkey Kong game is _the_ worst,” he said, in reference to the machine Kyle was next to.

His amber eyes glanced to it. He flicked them back to Craig after and said, “I’m pretty good at it.”  
  


Craig frowned, “well, so am I — still the worst though.”  
  


Kyle laughed. “You _better_ be good at it. You spend most of your time playing video games, it would be pretty pathetic if you sucked at them.”  
  


Craig narrowed his eyes on the redhead, and he snickered. “Move over,” Craig lightly pushed him out of the way and in front of the bulky machine. He inserted the coin and said, “First of all, I put most of my effort into games of the 21stcentury, second of all, _fuck you.”_

Kyle snickered again as he leaned his hip against the machine. He was standing pretty close to Craig, closer than he had been with Stan, at least, “video game talent should transcend.”

“Oh it _does,”_ Craig flicked his eyes to meet the red head’s gaze, a small smirk to his lips.

Kyle stared back, a smile rising. Whenever Craig smirked at him, he became insanely more attractive to him. He couldn’t explain it but when he looked at him with that sharp look in his hazel eyes and striking angle of his pink lips, it made it harder to breathe. “Let’s see.”

The game started up and Craig played well, but Kyle said he could do _better._

Kyle told him to move, but he would not, so Kyle was forced to shove him out of the way, making them both laugh in unison. Kyle inserted his coin, and turned his head to Craig, whose eyes had been glued to him. “Can you not stare so hard? It’s distracting.”

“I’m not… staring hard. What the hell am I supposed to look at?”

“The game screen… Like a normal person,” Kyle laughed.

Craig blushed and stared to the screen. Kyle did the same, biting on his smile. The game started up and Kyle managed to pull a better score than Craig, making the raven-haired boy grimace.

Kyle turned to him, grinning proudly, “Sorry Craig.”

“You’re not fucking sorry at all, Red,” Craig shook his head, eyes scanning around the room. His eyes landed on the new _Mario Kart_ game they added. He lit up, “bet I can beat you in Mario Kart.”

“You’re on.”

The males rushed over to _Mario Kart._ Craig _did_ end up winning the first round, while Kyle beat him the second. Craig took this as motivation to put in more effort and won the next two rounds.

For the rest of the time at the arcade, the boys forgot that they were there with a group, and not just each other, until Cartman came up to them, declaring they were planning to order pizza.

-

The following Monday, Craig spent his entire lunch period eying Kyle from a couple tables away. About half-way through, Tweek noticed. “Why don’t you just ask him _out?”_

Craig immediately denied it with “who?”

Tweek shook his head. “You know who exactly I’m talking about,” he shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee, which stood as his lunch. “Don’t play fucking dumb. We both know you’re actually a huge smarty.”

The rest of the table laughed and Craig grimaced, bowing his head down and stabbing his macaroni and cheese with a fork. “I feel like I’m being bullied.”

“I will bully you if you don’t ask him out,” Tweek said.

Craig sighed and when he looked up, he couldn’t resist sneaking a peak at Kyle again.

-

Kyle began to go without his hat a lot.

He tried to tell himself it was _not_ because of Craig, however, it most definitely was.

Craig still didn’t pay him anymore compliments though, which was annoying, but he was over it. He hadn’t had a lot of _male_ attention before. He never had been _interested_ in a male before, like _actually_ interested, which he decided recently that he _was; actually_ interested. He didn’t think he was too bad with courting girls, but Craig stood different.

He didn’t really know how to move forward.

Usually his _interest_ in someone was pretty obvious because it would be someone he had not previously talked to very much. His sudden attention on them, asking them to spend time together _alone,_ would be enough indication that he was asking them on a _date._ He felt unsure of himself, too, that Craig was male as opposed to female.

A strike of anxiety hit him with the thought. He just felt so inexperienced with boys. Craig had been out for almost half of his life.

He was surprised when during calculus, Craig slid him a note.

_So I was thinking … I have to prove to you that my years of playing video games means something… you want to come over after school and play some COD and stuff?_

Kyle tried to suppress his grin as he stared down at the note, but it was overall, a failure. With a slight shake to his hand, he wrote out a response.

_Sure. But don’t cry when I win, all while actually TRYING in school all these years._

He dropped the note on his desk and watched his reaction. Craig glared at him, but his lips were curled into a smile. He held up a middle finger at him and Kyle swallowed his chuckle, staring away.

He received a note back a few seconds later. He grabbed it and opened it beneath the desk.

_I’m not Clyde, asshole. I’m not going to cry. But I’m going to win, so it doesn’t matter anyways._

Kyle bit back his smile and scribbled out another response — it was beginning to be hard to fit anymore on the loose leaf, so his handwriting was more sloppy than usual.

_I guess we will see about that._

He passed the note back and while he didn’t get another response on paper, he did receive a glare along with a small smile. Kyle was happy with that.

-

He rode the bus with Craig today which his friends snickered at him for. Luckily, they sat a couple rows back from them although every time he looked over his shoulder, he saw them staring and laughing. It pissed him off. He shot them multiple glares throughout the ride. Craig seemed to notice too and held a middle finger up to them about halfway through the ride.

Once they got off the bus, the group all walked together, seeming as they all lived in the same neighborhood although instead of gravitating close to Stan as Kyle normally did, he walked next to Craig.

Clyde instead took his place next to his group. He heard them snickering behind them and Kyle somehow _knew_ they were still laughing at them.

“Hey Craig,” Clyde threw a branch at the male’s back. “Shouldn’t you take Kyle somewhere a little more nice for your first date than your fucking dorky bedroom?”

“Hey, plenty of my first dates were in my bedroom, and they were fucking awesome,” Kenny chimed, showing his teeth.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure your rat infestation _really_ set the mood,” Cartman said.

Kenny punched Cartman in the shoulder and Cartman barked out a loud howl. “Kenny!”

Craig picked up the branch and threw it back to Clyde in full force, landing in his chest.

“Ow, dude, that actually hurt,” Clyde rubbed the spot where it hit him.

Craig rolled his eyes and looked straight ahead as they continued to walk down the sidewalk. Kyle wondered if this _was_ a date. He knew it was definitely different than their _normal_ routine, but was it a _date?_ While Craig seemed unaffected by the teasing, it made him flush slightly, his nerves picking up.

They continued down the sidewalk; Kenny was the first one to part, then Clyde. They arrived at Craig’s house and they waved goodbye to Cartman and Stan. Cartman yelled out, “try shoving his guinea pigs up his ass — hear he likes that.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?” Stan asked, pushing Cartman forward to continue their walk.

Craig rolled his eyes and uttered out, “I’m going to fucking kill that fat ass one day.”

“Can I help?”

“Only if you get your dad to be our lawyer in court,” Craig shot back as he opened the door to his household.

  
“Deal.”

He hadn’t been in Craig’s house in a while. A couple years, at least. However, it looked the exact same. No one seemed to be home. He knew Tricia went to middle school with Ike, and that they got out of school thirty minutes later than the high school.

“Do you want… like anything to drink or something?” Craig turned to face him.

Kyle glanced up. He didn’t know _why_ it was the first time he really noticed the height difference, but it was and it only made him more attracted to him. He wasn’t _that_ much taller, only a couple inches, but every person he had been with before had been shorter. For some reason, this made him want Craig even _more_.

“Just… _water,”_ he said with a shrug, feeling as though his mouth was very dry.

He followed Craig into the kitchen and watched him fill a glass up with tap water. He watched him rather closely. Craig seemed to notice this, for he said, “what… do you not drink tap water?”

“No, it’s … fine,” he grabbed the glass. He shifted his gaze down and took a sip. “Where is your family?” He asked.

“Mom and Dad are at work — Tricia is at school, but she usually doesn’t come home for like an hour after. She’s like in love with Kenny’s sister or something,” Craig shrugged as he brushed past him and out of the kitchen.

Kyle followed him without being told. Craig turned the corner and went up the staircase, Kyle quickly trailing behind him. On the way up the stair case, he noticed a family picture hung on the wall of the family. It was of the Tucker family; all of them flipping the cameraman off. It was from when Craig was 9 or something. He smiled at it.

Kyle had never been inside Craig’s room before, but was not surprised with the layout. Near his dresser, was his guinea pig cage, which the taller boy immediately trotted too, greeting his pet. Kyle let a small smile rise to his lips at the sight as he glanced around further.

He had a decently sized TV at the end of his twin-size bed, along with black ottoman. Glow-in-the-dark stars were scattered over the ceiling. On his wall was a constellation poster, and on another wall was a poster of the moon phases. He also had another poster that said _Star Trek_ on it.

His room was neat for the most part, his bed even _made._ Craig dropped his backpack to the ground and Kyle did the same. He didn’t exactly know what to do with himself, so he trotted over to where Craig was, which was still with his guinea pig.

  
“Here,” Craig pulled out a treat from a plastic bag, “want to feed him?”

“Sure,” Kyle took the treat; their fingers brushing slightly. He slid it into the holes of the cage, the guinea pig taking it excitedly. He smiled. “What’s her name?”

“Stripe.”

Kyle darted his eyes to the other male. “Is this the same one you had as a kid?” He asked.

“No.”

“So — what?”

“Her name is just Stripe,” He opened the cage, the small animal running up his wrist, and a small smile coming across his face in reaction. “Stripe #6, if you really need to know.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m lazy,” Craig shrugged. “And I’m not creative. I like the name Stripe, and thinking of a name that I like more than that or I won’t get sick of gave me a headache.”

“You’re pathetic, is what you are,” Kyle chortled, petting the guinea pig on the back.

“Stripe would disagree,” Craig grabbed the guinea pig to set on his shoulder. He rubbed his face against her and Kyle could not deny that this was _possibly_ the cutest thing he had ever witnessed. His heart actually sputtered. He wasn’t sure what it was… maybe the indication that Craig could be cute like this. If he could treat his guinea pig with such affection… maybe he could do the same for Kyle?  
  


He shook the thought away. “Too bad guinea pigs can’t talk. I would _love_ to hear her thoughts on just being another replacement.”

Craig glared at him, his smile vanishing, and flipped him off. Kyle laughed.

Craig walked to the TV stand and grabbed the remote. He turned on his PS4 and then TV. He glanced back at Kyle. “You can… sit down.” Kyle stalled. He looked at the ottoman, then the bed, and then the swivel chair next to Craig’s desk. “The bed is the most comfy… if you want to take that…”

“Uh, sure,” Kyle walked to the bed, sucking in a breath and sitting down.

Craig grabbed two controllers, handing one to Kyle. Kyle blinked at him as he retreated away, going to sit on the ottoman.

  
His heart beat sped rapidly as Kyle opted, “you can sit on the bed with me… I mean, like I don’t mind. You said it was more comfy… And like it’s your _bed._ I don’t want to throw you out.”

Craig had been half way through the action of sitting down, but he stood back up, perplexed. He stared a moment but nodded. “Okay,” he shrugged and joined him on the bed. Kyle scooted over to the wall. They sat with their backs against the bed rest and _everything_ was touching. Kyle felt hyper aware of the warmth radiating off the other boy’s body; of the way their torsos hit against one another; of the way it was _impossible_ to not brush shoulders.

“Sorry… this bed… is small, is this fine?” Craig glanced over at him.

  
Kyle stared back, his mouth suddenly _very_ dry again. He regretted leaving his water by Stripe’s cage. Stripe, who defused the tension by crawling out of Craig’s hoodie and down his chest. Kyle’s eyes followed the small animal for a moment with an amused grin, before he glanced back at the big hazels on him, still awaiting an answer.

“Yeah. It’s fine…,” Kyle laughed, looking away. “I knew how big the bed was before I asked you to join me, genius.”

Craig stretched out his back, adjusting a little. He stretched out his arms and elbows, hitting Kyle in the jaw.

“Sorry. _Totally_ unintentional,” Craig smirked at him.

“Asshole,” Kyle chuckled, elbowing him in the side, making Craig laugh as well.

They began to play the new Call of Duty game. They played a few games of co-op, where Craig proved his talent of video game play, winning most times. They then transferred over to online co-op. Craig continuied to be a complete show off, especially when he inserted some cheats and fucked with the other players. He made himself invisible, the other players mouthing off death threats, only making both boys laugh harder.

Some time between the first and eighth game, they had begun knocking their knees into each other, until Craig just kept his knee there. It was a small gesture, but Kyle was hyperaware of the intentional touch.

“Okay,” he finally said, “you’re good, but my brother would still definitely beat you.”

“I guess we will have to put that to the test,” Craig glanced over at him with a smirk, making his heart palpitate.

They heard the front door open from downstairs, and then footsteps, but no one said anything.

“Tricia,” Craig explained, eyes on the screen and fingers moving on the controller.

Kyle didn’t realize it had already been over an hour between them. It went by so fast. He swallowed and thought of what Clyde said as the game ended, their team winning. He faced Craig and the other man turned to face him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Was… Clyde right? Is this a date?”  
  


Craig gaped at this. He flushed. “Um … I guess… If you want it to be, but… I can definitely take you on a way better first date than _this…,”_ he chuckled nervously. _“_ So part of me wants to say no… Because I feel like this is a pretty lame first date.”

A tender smile rose on the redhead’s face. “I don’t think it’s lame… It’s nice…” Kyle spoke softly. He sucked in a breath from his nose. “Do you think it’s lame?” Kyle’s words were soft; vulnerable. He usually spoke with conviction, he spared his voice from softness or vulnerability. Although, in this moment… He didn’t mind being vulnerable. He didn’t mind appearing _soft._

_“No,”_ Craig huffed out a breath of laughter. They were kicked out the COD game for no activity, but neither boy even glanced at the screen. “That’s not what I meant,” the other boy’s words were equally as soft. “It’s… the _opposite_ of lame.”

The corner of Kyle’s lips dragged up into a small smile, “poetic.”

“Shut up,” he barked back with a chuckle; keeping wide hazels on him. Craig’s eyes fell onto the redhead’s lips. The only logical thing Craig thought to do was to lean forward and kiss him. So, he did.

Craig placed his hand against Kyle’s cheek as he leaned forward, brushing their lips together in a tender, but sensational kiss. It was short, too short, Kyle thought as the other male pulled back. Kyle grabbed onto the nape of his neck, pulling him forward again to crash their lips together.

His heart beat quickened; his nerve endings feeling as they were blowing off like pop rockets. His lips were softer than expected. He didn’t know why he expected a boy’s lips to be less soft than a girl’s, but he was wrong. Craig’s lips were _very_ soft, and he enjoyed the feeling of light, growing stubble under his fingertips.

They tilted their heads to deepen it, and Craig’s pulled off his hat, running his hand through his curls. It felt _good._ He didn’t remember the last time someone touched his hair. They both pulled back after a moment; breathless, and smiling.

Craig still played with his hair. Kyle let out chuckle, face red with self awareness; feeling very exposed without his hat. “It’s… not gelled.. and it’s like _full_ on Jew Fro right now.”

Craig laughed, and his fingers continued to melt through his curls as he gazed into his eyes. “I like it.”

“I’ve been waiting to hear you say that again for like… a month,” Kyle admitted, laughing.

Craig smiled. “I’m not… good at flirting… or whatever.”

“Clearly.”

“Shut up,” Craig shook his head with a roll of his eyes, although he was smiling. Kyle smiled back. Craig purged forward and captured another kiss again.

Afterward, they went back to COD; tangling their legs together and playing a game of footsie as they did so. Kyle felt foggy; the kiss making him feel slightly high. His gameplay definitely took a hit with his distracted mind, but Craig’s did too, so he figured it was okay.

-

Due to it being summer break, report cards were sent to his house.

Usually Craig would camp out by the mail-box and make sure he got it before his parents. He would keep it from them for as long as possible until his mother would threaten to call the school and request another copy.

However, this year was different. Craig actually felt excited about the oncoming report card. However, his boyfriend seemed to be more excited. Craig felt a little nervous about Kyle seeing his grades. While he did pull them up, he knew his British Literature grade was probably not as good as the others.

When his report card did finally come, he showed his parents. His mother smiled wide and gave him a hug, while his father nodded in approval, giving him a pat on the back and awkwardly announcing how proud he was.

“Thank God for Kyle,” his mother hummed, which made him roll his eyes even though it was true.

He received a call from from his boyfriend shortly after his report card arrived. He told him he was coming over. He didn’t ask. He just said, “I’m coming over right now to see it. I hate you. You haven’t answered my texts.”

He grabbed his report card and stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. “I’ve been busy. My parents are happy with me. It’s a weird thing to deal with.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“I don’t like attention.”

“That’s a huge lie.”

It was. “I don’t like attention from… _other_ people.”

“Okay, well, I’m almost at your house, so I’ll see you soon.”

They ended their phone conversation, and just as promised, Kyle was at his house in a matter of minutes. He opened the door and there his boyfriend stood, the sun rays bouncing off his red hair and a small grimace on his face.

“You look happy to see me,” he moved so Kyle could step in.

“Give it to me, since you wouldn’t send me a picture,”

“You’re literally the most impatient person I know,” he handed it over.

He watched as Kyle’s face lit up. “Babe, this is great! You even got a B minus in Brit Lit. This is _so_ awesome,” he looked up to meet his boyfriend’s gleam.

Craig couldn’t help to blush as he shook his head. “I guess you can go find some other person to be your project now.”

“Shut up,” Kyle retorted. He laced his hands around Craig’s neck and pulled him into a celebratory kiss. Craig lips morphed into a smile against his boyfriend’s and Kyle pulled away. “I’m so proud of you,” the redhead leaned his forehead against the other male’s.

Craig settled his hand’s on his boyfriend’s hips and tried to suppress his smile. “Thanks,” he said, “for everything.”

Kyle nodded, gazing into his eyes. Kyle was planning to kiss him again, but Tricia came stomping down the stairs, yelling, “ _mom, dad!_ Craig is making out with his boyfriend in the middle of the hallway. Can you please tell them to _stop?”_

Craig threw a middle finger up to his little sister in response.

“They can make out wherever they want as long as Kyle keeps helping Craig get good grades,” Laura yelled back.

Craig blushed and Kyle laughed. Tricia groaned and shouted, “I hate this fucking family,” as she turned around and went back up the steps.

With Tricia gone and with his mother’s encouragement, Craig leaned forward again, capturing his boyfriend’s lips for another kiss.


End file.
